Americans learning Bulgarian - isn’t that great!

The number of Americans who interact either in business, social, or personal settings with Bulgarians is ever growing.  This is why we created a Bulgarian language class at our Bulgarian Learning Center “Znanie.”  The course provides wonderful opportunities for Americans, foreigners, as well as Bulgarians born in the US to learn the Bulgarian language and in the process to get acquainted with the Bulgarian traditions, customs, and culture.

Taste of Bulgaria

I am proud to say that our American students completed the second level of the Bulgarian class successfully.  They were very satisfied with the course and their teacher Kristina Von Hanke. The Bulgarian teacher related her love for Bulgaria and increased their desire to immerse themselves in the Bulgarian atmosphere, to apply in the real world the knowledge they have gained in the classroom, and to learn new things. Some of them have already made plans to visit Bulgaria this summer.  No matter their plans for the summer, all students eagerly accepted the invitation to visit a Bulgarian restaurant together and dedicate a whole day to explore all things Bulgarian.  As recommended by some of the students who had already tasted the Bulgarian cuisine in various restaurants we picked “Sofia” as the restaurant of our choice.  The group reserved a table that waws especially prepared for them.  Upon arrival, their excitement was great.  They were asking questions about everything.  Naturally the first questions were about what to pick out of the menu for lunch.  Everyone decided definitively that they wanted to try airjan, tarator, shopska salad, and French fries with feta cheese.  Wanting to try everything the students kept ordering courses which they enjoyed pronouncing the names of.  In a little bit the food started coming out and there was little space left on the table for all the courses that kept pouring out of the kitchen.  The group was eager to try everything, to learn how it is pronounced and how it is prepared.  They loved the flavors and variety of the Bulgarian cuisine and wanted to know how they could make some of the dishes at home by themselves.  Their questions kept popping out one after another. Are restaurants in Bulgaria similar to this one?  Will there be English translations of the menus in Bulgaria so that we could learn more about the cuisine?  How much tip should one leave for the server?  Having loved their experience in the Bulgarian restaurant they also wanted to visit a Bulgarian store where they could buy something authentic.  We decided to go to the store “Youth” and the questions were numerous once more.  The chosen tasting selection consisted of lutenitza, lukanka, and lukum.  They were pleasantly surprised from the souvenirs they received from the Bulgarian Learning Center “Znanie.”  It was raining very lightly that day and we were so completely entrenched in the Bulgarian culture that the group did not want to leave just yet.  And to make our departure a little easier from our little tour of all things Bulgarian around Chicago we promised to meet again in cafe “Mirage” this June.